The Journey

You will surely enjoy this movie more if you understand some Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Bahasa, Mandarin,.. (a lot of humour). A good introduct It portrays: 1) differences in generation gap, believes, characters (12-zodiac represents 12 different characters), culture and how they can live along 2) a compilation of key important activities celebrated by different Chinese ethnicity. 3) there is always another side of the story for anyone. Even one of the most stubborn character who is very old fashioned can bend the rules for the love of the daughter 4) layman can be good actors and actresses. Simply natural! 5) the beauty of mother nature when taken at the correct time.

For me, what's make the movie called 'great' is if the movie's genre is romance, we can feel the soul of love. If horror, we can feel the fear. If comedy, we can laughing out loud all the way. Drama? We can cry.But, for this family drama movie, honestly is just an average movie that we always see and I'm not really feel anything, you know I was crying with "Titanic". For the cinematography, yeah its really great and beautiful! I never see any malaysian production did something like this, the air balloon, the background color. Congratulation for the art camera team! The story, its just okay. Maybe its release on the good timing or the right time, Chinese New Year celebration and all Chinese want to watch at least something local in the cinema so they got this one.So, "The Journey" are the lucky one, because of all their hardwork, I think they deserve this box-office. The highest grossing Malaysian movie of all time until now.

The Journey happens to be the first Malaysian film i ever watched in the cinema. The beauty of my experience is that there were 4 generations of my family enjoying it - my 76 year old mother, my old 50 year old self, my 35 year old cousin and her 9 year old daughter. We all connected to the characters and their issues immediately.

The first reviewer has probably mentioned almost everything there is to be said about the movie but i want to add that since i am an educator by profession, i would love to use excerpts of the film's conversations as teaching - learning points for our current generation. The part when Benji did a telling off to his father in law for his reluctance to send off his dead friend highlights the important point of my learning and teaching resource. The little boy who stood in between them as interpreter did a wonderful job. He epitomizes the very essence of human communication... keeping the message simple, precise, easily understood and preserving the original purpose and intent.

And that, is mastery of excellence in communication :)

It has been awhile since I last watched a movie that moved me so much. I managed to catch the movie whilst back in Malaysia for a short holiday.

I must say that Malaysian movie production has certainly come a long long way. The movie brings back many sweet nostalgic memories of Malaysia's rich blend of culture. I came away from the movie with shedding more than a tear. Ben, Joanne and Frankie all gave remarkable performances. Top credits go to Joanne and Frankie making their debut as big-screen actors. One can sense that the main characters flow naturally in their respective roles without too much acting needed. The mix of various Chinese dialects and comical phrases are simply a touch of brilliance. Last but not least, the soundtracks by Geraldine and Ben respectively are so captivating and beautifully presented. Looks like the music scene in Malaysia has also come a long way.

Such gem should not be Malaysia's best kept secret. I am sure if made available worldwide, many Malaysians living abroad would enjoy this movie. I was disappointed that I could not get hold of a DVD/Bluray to bring with me to Australia so that I can spread the love around.

Looking forward to enjoy many more Malaysian movies.

Malaysia Boleh!

Before I first went to watch THE JOURNEY in the cinema, I have little knowledge about this movie at all. But to my surprise, this locally-made production has totally exceeds my expectation, at which THE JOURNEY truly deserves its recognition as one of the best Malaysian-Chinese movies ever made. And bear in mind, this is only Chiu's (his full name is actually Chiu Keng Guan) third directing effort following his back-to-back success of 2010's WOOHOO! and 2011's GREAT DAY.

WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?

After spending a decade living with her aunt to study art in England, Bee (Joanne Yew) has finally returns home to Cameron Highlands. She also brought back her British fiancé, Benji (Ben Andrew Pfeiffer) to introduce him to her conservative father Uncle Chuan (Frankie Lee) and hoping to seek his blessing for their upcoming marriage. At first, Uncle Chuan opposes to his daughter's marriage because he doesn't get along with Benji well. However, he ends up agreeing anyway except with one condition -- their wedding ceremony has to be done in the Chinese tradition. Soon, Benji is tasked to bring along Uncle Chuan on a long motorcycle journey across the country to deliver the wedding invitations to Uncle Chuan's 11 ex-primary schoolmates.

THE GOOD STUFF

Chiu's direction is sharp and meticulous to detail, especially the way he depicts the Chinese culture and tradition with such authenticity. His regular screenwriter, Ryon Lee, successfully combined the universal themes of culture, hope, love, friendship and unity within his screenplay that everyone can relate to. Eric Yeong's cinematography, which is shot on locations across six states in Malaysia (Cameron Highlands, Ipoh, Penang, Kedah, Melaka and Johor) are wonderfully captured with such sheer beauty it's like watching a travel channel. The panoramic and idyllic view of the Cameron Highlands setting is especially worth a special mention here.

For the acting department, Chiu has certainly took a huge gamble by casting actors with little or no experience in acting at all. However, his gamble proves to be surprisingly rewarding. 73-year-old retiree Frankie Lee is perfectly cast as the conservative and stubborn father Uncle Chuan. He pairs well with Australian stage actor Ben Andrew Pfeiffer, who delivers an impressive performance as Benji. Watching the way they argue against each other because of their cultural and ideological differences are simply both entertaining and heartfelt. Miss Astro Chinese International Pageant 2007 Joanne Yew, in the meantime, is not only photogenic but also acted well as the estranged daughter Bee. As for the rest of the supporting actors, all of them have their equal share of limelight.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT(S)

The brief but wonderful scene where Bee uses a black marker to draw caricature of her father, Uncle Chuan and her fiancé, Benji riding motorcycle together on the car window.

THE BAD STUFF

Throughout the duration, I was surprised by the mesmerizing result of this movie. In short, THE JOURNEY is pitch perfect that I hardly find a flaw within.

FINAL WORDS

Like the title itself, this is one cinematic journey worth exploring for. No doubt THE JOURNEY is a rare gem of a local movie not to be missed this Chinese New Year. By the way, make sure to stay for the end-credits music video featuring Ben Andrew Pfeiffer singing a wonderfully cheeky song that combines English and Chinese languages.